Revolutionary Étude
by Fenris30
Summary: Whip and her teammates are stationed in Austria. Heidern had taken a great interest in Adelheid Bernstein-and he never told the others why. Now, Sky Noah is docked near Vienna, and truths begin to surface. Pairing of Adelheid/Whip.
1. Sky Noah

**Revolutionary Étude**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Whip, Adelheid, Rose, Ralf, Clark, Heidern, Ash, Duo Lon, Shen, the King of Fighters, Sky Noah, Vienna, the random pub and park in Vienna, or anything else that might be copyrighted already. SNK/Playmore owns all King of Fighters characters and the game franchise.

**Rating:** M to be safe; there is a scene of graphic violence in a later chapter, and a couple of past descriptions of violent acts. Some language dropped around. No adult situations, a bit of kissing and perhaps ONE thing you could take as implied if you squint at it in the dark.

**Time Line Notes:** Story takes place between XI and XII; assuming Adelheid's ending was true in XI, and assuming Ash, Duo Lon, and Shen battled him at the end of 2003.

I want to thank Master Jin Sonata for beta-reading this monster.

**Sky Noah**

The Sky Noah was a rather amazing place, Whip thought to herself as she walked through it's corridors. It was docked for maintenance currently in Austria, rather close to it's capital city, Vienna. A giant flying fortress-that's what is was-a fully furnished, powered and livable flying fortress-ought to be kept in good repair, after all. Lately, her and her partners, Ralf and Clark, had been visiting the place-mainly because their commander, Heidern had been meeting more often with it's owner, Adelheid Bernstein. The two men had first met before the last tournament; the commander had taken an interest in the young man after seeing him fight the year before, though it was one thing he never discussed with any of them. Whip, being the youngest and newest member of the group, was not always in on the three higher-ranking men's actions but she followed Heidern's orders to the letter when he gave them-well, all three of them did. There was certainly going to be another tournament soon; whether or not she would be ordered to go along as well was anyone's guess. It was even rumored among their group that Heidern himself was going to enter again-something he hadn't done for a few years-but she wasn't sure how true it was. You never knew with him, as he basically told you what he wanted you to know.

She actually did like her partners; Ralf and Clark were like big brothers to her. Sure, they could be pains in the asses at times, occasionally a bit perverted and liked to drink one to many sometimes; but they were good, loyal men nonetheless, great fighters and soldiers who both accepted her when she joined them. Heidern was a bit more guarded; Ralf and Clark were fairly good at reading him, due to their decade of knowing one another, but even they admitted at times they didn't know what was going on in his head; and this was one of those situations. They had an idea, however-Heidern had some of his own tie-ins with the Bernstein family.

The Bernsteins were well known among any who had taken part in the King of Fighters tournaments of old-Rugal Bernstein was the host. But he was an evil, brutal man-dipping the warriors he defeated in molten metal to make statues of them to put on display. Whether they were alive or dead when he did so, not many liked to think about. Rugal was an arms dealer and drug trafficker that Heidern had tried to bring down Rugal had kidnapped his wife and child to lure him in. Heidern had lost his eye and all of his men in the resulting battle, and worst of all, his wife and child were killed. Kyo Kusanagi, however, later defeated Rugal. Rugal was said to have had a bit of the Orochi power in him, which finally led to his ultimate downfall. Perhaps it was understandable that Heidern had taken a great interest in his son, Adelheid, a little over a year ago-though it could have been longer.

Adelheid and Rose Bernstein both lived on the Sky Noah, and Adelheid nearly defeated all _three _of Ash Crimson, Duo Lon and Shen Woo in a battle about a year and a half ago in its main living room; Ash managed to finally best him. He fought the three of them at once-Ash was nearly knocked out; Duo Lon and Shen were taken out of the fight. Adelheid had let them go, accepting his defeat despite his sister's protests. He was apparently a rather honorable, decent fellow. Heidern and Adelheid now started to meet as regularly as Heidern's rather busy schedule of commanding armies and figuring out plots allowed-Ralf, Clark, and Whip had gotten to somewhat better know the two Bernstein kids as well in this time-well, Rose, not so much. Adelheid had entered, and won, the last tournament by himself-fighting three people at once was something he looked forward to, apparently. When he trained, he allowed several of the Sky Noah's more trained servants to attack him at a time, Ralf and Clark had witnessed. They denied it, but the young man had apparently beaten both of them in a training match. Ralf claimed the two of them were tired from the night before, and it shouldn't have counted, Whip remembered with a smirk.

As for what Whip herself thought of the Bernstein kids-she didn't like Rose very much. She didn't see her that often-'princess' that she was she didn't like to sully herself with 'lesser' people. She was the younger of the two, and while she wasn't a fighter except for a bit of fencing on the side, she seemed to inherit all of her father's bad qualities-spoiled, manipulative, power-hungry and greedy. She _seemed_ on the surface to genuinely love her older brother sometimes-but other times she seemed to be using him for prestige and power, having a big brother who would fight-and sometimes even kill-on her command. Truth be told, lately Rose had been acting even stranger; locking herself in her room on the Sky Noah and playing her piano, according to Adelheid. It had started after the last tournament. Whip had recalled in the last tournaments Rose would never, ever leave his side-it was almost creepy, when she thought about it. She had the feeling Rose somehow was jealous of her the way she stared daggers through her when they first met-though she had no clue why she would be-Rose also thought Heidern too full of himself-_like she should talk, _Whip mused-and Ralf and Clark uncivilized oafs despite their generally friendly, laid-back attitudes.

Adelheid, on the other hand, turned out to indeed be a decent young man-it seemed he inherited his father's strength and fighting spirit with not so many of his bad qualities-that they could see. Frighteningly skilled and strong, there seemed to be not many that could stand against him. She had seen him fight in the preliminary bouts of the last King of Fighters tournament-the qualifications. He fought his way through multiple groups of multiple fighters and didn't look very much worse for the wear afterward. He wasn't unbeatable, as was proven by Ash Crimson, but even that was not a one-sided battle; it was three on one and went down to the wire. Heidern, Ralf, Clark, and Whip all knew how to fight in their own styles, but Whip thought watching Adel was very impressive. He had a sort of fighting brilliance about him; his style, according to Heidern, was much like his father's, but he had molded parts of that into his own-already at his young age, and then even a lot of it on his own, as Rugal had been dead for close to a decade. His blows were swift and furious; his whole body was a weapon that fought in perfect sync. His legs were probably the most dangerous of his natural weapons; he used them to deliver razor-fast and powerful kicks to his opponents, and they usually couldn't take many of them-they were strong enough to render someone unconscious very quickly. If he _didn't _hold back they could splinter bone, or even worse, crush a skull; this was grimly proven when he was forced to fight for his life before. She didn't witness any of his supposed lethal battles, but Heidern had mentioned an incident (how he knew about it, she didn't know) where someone-the Bernsteins still had enemies who were out for blood-made an attempt on his life and that of his sister. She did recall a bit of the 2003 tournament where she had seen a bit of another fight when Rose had began playing the piano for him (she still wondered why she brought a piano to the tournament), a rather discordant song that seemingly drove him into a rage. She didn't fully remember the shape of the men afterward; but there was a lot of blood. _He has some darkness in him. But he can keep it controlled it seems._

But unlike his father, he did not relish outright hurting people, and usually fought with force as force was given. Heaven help the person, however, who threatened his life-the darker side to him could come out if under such duress, as had happened before. In the tournament, it seemed the music had done something to him. Maybe it was something more. He was a good sport overall though, and respected any opponents who fought him fairly with everything they had, unlike his sister, who thinks the 'ugly losers' should deserve to die at the end of her brother's assaults. Even Whip could tell her attitude was beginning to disgust Adelheid. He _did _have an air of smugness about him, when he fought-he _knew _he was good and that he didn't lose that often. He just knew how to take loss; and used it to better himself. But his arrogance-if you could call it that-was inoffensive compared to that of his sister. He simply knew just how strong he was and wasn't afraid to tell-or show-people who wanted to challenge him. He had treated the rest of the team-Ralf, Clark, and Whip-with courtesy when they were invited onto the Noah as he and Heidern went off to talk; servants had brought them about anything they wanted, and they were kept comfortable. Ralf and Clark, she recalled, didn't hesitate to begin drinking him out of house and home. Adelheid didn't even mind seeing the empty bottles when they came back out of the private meeting room; he actually cracked a smile.

_But why is Heidern so interested, and why is he keeping it such a secret? _Whip wondered to herself sometimes. He trusted the three of them with very secret missions; but this wasn't even a mission. Ralf had assured her not to worry; Heidern had a reason for everything he did, and it would become clear-if he wanted it to. It wasn't as much as it bothered her as simply made her curious. The three had chalked it up to Heidern's tragic past with the elder Bernstein.

Whip had made it up to the Sky Noah's deck-she debated staying under, since it was well-air conditioned against the July heat, but she decided to go outside, even though they were grounded. She wanted some fresh air.

Adelheid was there, leaning against the rail, looking off into the city; they were docked on the outskirts. He wore his usual outfit; his loose trousers made for ease of fighting; his heavy boots ringed with metal, and the suspenders, which he seemed to adopt as part of his style, which were hanging off of his shoulders. He was sans his shirt or gloves, however, as the heat was quite great. He had a glass of something in his hand-it appeared to be wine, but she couldn't tell from afar. She debated going back in for a moment to leave him to his thoughts-he was a rather private man-but he turned and saw her. He tilted his head to the side, and after a moment waved at her and motioned her over. She walked to meet him.

''Decide to brave the heat? It's much nicer down there.'' He smiled softly. If there was one thing it took getting used to, Whip thought, it was his eyes-they were the color of blood; even though he wasn't albino. Perhaps close; his hair was a light blond, and his skin was very fair, if not a bit pale.

''I was a little bored. Heidern had gone off somewhere, and I think Ralf and Clark are partying in the city. They like their days off.''

''I might have guessed.'' He chuckled. ''Decide to stay behind?''

''Yeah, I didn't really feel much like going out today and drinking in ninety degree heat. Let them suffer for it.'' She also laughed a bit. She had actually spoken to the elder Bernstein sibling many times; but it was mainly greetings, a few tidbits about the tournament and the inevitable upcoming one, and other casual small talk. ''Did I disturb you?''

He shook his head. ''I was just having a drink to wind down after training, wanted to enjoy some scenery. Looking forward to getting this thing off the ground again.'' He stretched and smiled a bit. ''It can take awhile, though. Regular maintenance to a flying castle tends to take awhile.''

Whip couldn't quite put her finger on it, but there was something bothering him today. He was usually a little on the more withdrawn side; perhaps a little bit shy, even (mainly when he came to her, she recalled), but today he seemed a bit more lost in his thoughts. She didn't feel like she really knew him well enough to press, however. It seemed like the only things he did were train, occasionally meet with his sister (whose visits got short and shorter, with Adelheid showing visibly a bit more either distress or anger after each one), go back and train to let out frustration, or occasionally disappear to his quarters, and sometimes meet with Heidern or other random, somewhat official looking people. Occasionally he would be seen in the Sky Noah's rather impressive library. Whip herself had been feeling a touch lonely lately; while Ralf and Clark were indeed like her big brothers that she went to hang out with sometimes, there were other times where they simply liked to go out and have 'Guy Time', and she wasn't too much a part of that.

Adelheid looked at her. ''You know, when you're here, the place is basically open to you guys. If you're hungry, tell someone. They'll get you something. If you want to take a nap and don't feel like going back to wherever you guys are staying here, there are spare rooms-just make yourself at home. I don't have too much in the way of entertainment, but a training facility, and the big-screen TV, and music, and naturally the library, but you're free to use them too. Just don't go barging into my sister's quarters. She's irritated enough as it is.'' He frowned a bit.

''Everything alright with you two?'' She didn't know why she blurted that out, but she did. ''Sorry. I'm not trying to pry.''

He sighed and pushed back some of his long bangs that had fallen into his face. ''It's ok. She's acting weird. Everyone's noticed it. She barely talks to me if only to yell at me about something or other that's not right, and the occasional servant who also somehow manages to piss her off. I have no idea what's she's doing, and frankly I'm starting to give up trying to find out what's wrong.'' He looked a bit sad. ''It all started after the last tournament. I win the tournament, win it for myself, and win it for her, and she's still pissed off-and it's because I snapped at her, I think. I grew tired of her insulting my opponents. They fought damned hard, you know? But I didn't think she'd hold a grudge for almost a year.''

''Couldn't you ever, you know...go your separate ways?''

''In theory, yes...we have plenty of money, we could split it and we'd both still have plenty. But...she's my little sister. I can't just abandon her.''

There was something, Whip thought. She realized with his mother's whereabouts unknown and his practically insane father dead, his sister, as much as a-to put it nicely-bitch that she could be, was his only family. He would apparently rather keep her around, despite her being verbally abusive and passively violent-sending him to do any dirty work she wanted- than lose his last bit of family.

''Ahh, well.'' he said, finishing the last bit of his wine. ''Guess there's no point in dwelling on it.'' He turned back toward her. Whip wasn't dressed in her usual coat; the heat had been too great. She had a tank top on; army green, and it complimented her well. She caught his eyes move up and down her quickly; when he noticed he looked away. She could have sworn she caught the slightest hint of red appear on his face, but she wasn't quite sure. ''Want to go inside?''

''Sure.'' She followed him in to the main living room; they sat on the large, rather fancy couch that was there. The Bernsteins had never lacked for money; as ill-gotten as it was, and the children had inherited it. So they lived damned well. There was some classical music playing on some surround-sound speakers in the room; but otherwise it was quiet. The two of them sat in silence for a while, leaning back. Adelheid's eyes were closed; she thought he might have been asleep, until he spoke.

''Are you hungry? Want anything to drink, perhaps?''

Whip thought for a moment. ''Maybe some wine. It looked kinda good. And i might need a few to be able to face the two maniacs whenever they get back.''

Adel opened his eyes and smiled. He rose and went to the cabinet; he procured a fancy-looking bottle and two glasses. He filled them and brought them to the couch. ''It's pretty old. I think the wine is twice as old as I am.''

''Which is?''

''24.''

Whip sipped the wine. It was indeed very good. ''I don't go out all the time with them. The guys. They have their time, you know.''

''I don't go out much, period. Don't worry about it. I occasionally walk around the town, or on the outskirts, but that's about it.'' He smiled a bit. ''I have my other interests to keep me busy.''

''Which is...training?'' If he wasn't kicking his gigantic practice bag-sometimes knocking it off the chains-he was battling a bunch of guys running at him at once. _Well, except when he's in the library._

''It's an art, to me. Fighting is an art, a way of living. I'm always adding to it, evolving it, like the way some might compose a song or paint something. It's a lot more than hitting a bag, for me.''

''Interesting way of looking at it.'' She sipped some more, and pushed some of her hair back behind her ears. ''I was impressed when i saw you fight in the preliminary at the last one.''

''Those guys weren't all that great-they needed a lot of work. They would have done much better in a more amateur tournament. But they tried hard at least; they had the guts to go into the big leagues... Rose wouldn't stop spitting insults at them. Myself, I found it rather callous.'' He looked at his wine and took a long drink himself. He changed the subject. ''What have you been doing with your time here? Vienna's a pretty decent place, you might actually like going to check it out.''

''Well, I mean, we went out a few times, but I guess I can't keep up with the crazies. We do a bit of, well, planning I guess you can say-with the team. We have a few duties to take care of-but otherwise, not too much.'' She chuckled a bit. ''I feel like we've been sort of taking over your home, with Heidern coming here whenever he's off. At the moment we're being stationed not too far away, staying in a hotel near the center, which I could swear he did on purpose. He has a reason for everything.''

''Well, I like him. I don't mind. And w...I don't mind the company, really. He's taught me a lot, when we're together. Our family doesn't have the greatest tag on it. You know.'' He drank off his glass and filled another. ''We'll be here for a while, I think. The maintenance won't be done for another month or so.'' He saw her getting a bit low and refilled her glass as well.

They sat quietly again for a while; the classical music still playing. A servant came in at one point to see if everything was all right; Adel had nodded and waved him away. Whip turned to him and asked suddenly, "You mention Vienna being a rather nice place...would you maybe...mind showing me around one day?'' Afterward, she blinked, looked at her wine and tugged a bit at her shirt. _I'm a bit brave. I hardly know him, even though we've kind of known for a while. I've seen him fight a couple of times, train a couple of times, and freeloaded off of his flying fortress for over a week and a half, and now I'm asking him to be my tour guide._

Adel blinked for a moment and ruffled up his hair; some of it fell back into his face. ''S...sure. I can show you a few places-er, what do you want to see..? Clubs? Cafes? Stores? Anything?'' He drank a bit more.

''Anything is fine. I think we're meeting tomorrow; it's Monday...but maybe the weekend? You'll still be here, you said?''

''Yeah, we aren't moving for a while. Weekend sounds good. I can get my training in early.'' He laughed a bit.

''So, it's a date then?''

''A...date?'' He stumbled a little on his words. ''Well, I mean, if you, ahh, want it to be, I don't want to interfere with your job here or anything...''

''Job? With these guys?'' She had to laugh a bit, too. ''I do go along with quite a few of their duties, but sometimes, it's more them. I'm still sort of the newcomer, even after awhile. They're dear to me, regardless. But I think I'll be free for the weekend.''

''All right then. Like you said...a date.''

They drank on the couch for a while more; Whip finally decided to go back to her hotel room when the bottle was done. They were supplied with a very nice hotel indeed, on the government's dime. Adel stood to let her out.

''Thanks for the finely aged wine, there. Nothing like downing a vintage like it's cheap box wine, hmm?''

''I'll have a headache for my trouble, no doubt. It's punishment for defiling it like that.'' He smiled at her. ''So see you on the weekend, then.''

''Yeah.'' She turned to walk out. ''You know, i could come by this week, too. I won't be tied up all the time. I just won't have a lot.''

''That's fine. Just buzz in, like always.'' He paused. ''By the way...I just call you Whip?''

She thought for a moment, and turned around; looking at him. He was leaning against the door; his red eyes focused on her. ''Seirah.''

''Seirah? That's nice.''

''Don't tell everyone. Keep it between us and the other guys, ok? Not everyone knows it.''

''No problem.'' He bowed slightly. ''See you.''

_He is polite, indeed. And damned if this wine didn't go a little bit to my head. Why didn't I notice before he was that easy on the eyes?_


	2. On the Town

**On the Town**

The night didn't stop the heat very well, but Vienna was fairly alive on the weekend regardless, if not more so. Whip had managed to get away from the guys in relative secrecy-for some reason she wasn't too hot to tell them about her 'date' with Adelheid, as she could already imagine the comments. On top of that, she wasn't sure if Heidern considered this business. All it was, though, was simply him showing her around a bit, occasionally pausing for a drink or a bite to eat. It was quite pleasant, she thought-he was nice company; didn't talk very much but he did begin to open up a bit more as the day went on. He still seemed rather guarded-but she could be that way; too so it worked out quite well. They had seen off and on for the past week, whenever Whip had a free moment-she wasn't terribly busy, but she was mainly gone during the day on a few meetings. They started to enjoy a glass of wine in an evening, or a cup of coffee in the morning. She felt that since he was being quite kind to them, allowing them almost free access to what was basically his home, it would be a decent thing to maybe talk to the guy once in awhile, or at least offer some company, which he didn't really seem to mind. Now that his sister had secluded herself more, he didn't have much of it.

After dusk had came and went, they had paused on a small walking bridge in a more secluded part of the city. There was a nice view; and several people walking around still, but they got out of the main crowds that were starting to fill the streets-as happened in any large city on a Saturday night in the summer. They had discussed hitting one of the pubs later for fun, but right now they wanted to get away from the crowds for a while.

Adelheid leaned over the small bridge; there was a river running down underneath, but it was rather narrow. The breeze was refreshing compared to the city, which was at least five degrees hotter. He brushed back his hair, which was a touch damp, then rested his chin on his hands. He turned a bit toward Whip.

''What do you think so far?''

''Of the city?''

''Of course.'' He smiled.

''I like it. I had wandered around a little bit before, like I said, but I got to see a lot more today. It's strange; we travel a lot, and I get to see a lot-but i don't get to really _see_ as much as I'd like, if that makes sense.''

''It does. I sometimes do the same-we just pass over a place. I make it a point to at least try whenever we have these longer docking sessions.''

Whip stood next to him, holding on to the railing of the bridge as well. She found she really did enjoy his company; they could stand or sit in relative silence sometimes, but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. They would occasionally exchange a glance, but Adelheid was sort of hard to read; he could guard his emotions fairly well. Well, usually. She did catch him a few times checking her out-but then she supposed she had done the same to him. She was starting to see a bit more of him too; the more she got to know him; the more she could see. Little things, like how he carried himself in a rather proud, confident way; but he walked sometimes with his head down and his hands in his pockets, which told her he perhaps had a few insecurities-which would be understandable, because most people did. Or perhaps something was on his mind. Maybe a little bit of both. He did not, in any stretch of the mind, give an air of helplessness or weakness, however. He might have been a bit more reserved, but one could tell he could be a very dangerous man if provoked. If he talked of fighting, he got a very slight air of smugness to him; but given his track record, he could be much more arrogant if he wanted to and it could actually be justified. He was respectful toward honorable opponents. But overall, he seemed very pleased when talking to her; it was more than the formal courtesies he gave before; he genuinely seemed to like being around her more. Whip felt the same. The physical part aside, but there was no doubt in her mind now, she found him highly attractive. Tall, long-legged and muscular; nice hair, a great style of dress, and a pleasant, soft-spoken voice; he had a lot going for him in that way. But he was very interesting on top of it; he wasn't the one-sided, mildly arrogant fighting-man that one might think upon first meeting him.

Adel had looked back over the water for a while, and turned back to her, facing her more fully, but still leaning his arm on the edge. ''Thanks for, well, asking me. I didn't plan on going out.''

Whip blinked. ''No problem. You looked like you needed some time away, anyhow. You've been a good tour-guide, besides.''

He chuckled at that. ''Glad I haven't been too boring.'' His eyes followed her up and down again. She wasn't dressed in her normal military gear today; she opted for her boots, a pair of blue jeans and a tank top, her hair pushed back behind her ears. ''You know, that look suits you.''

She looked out over the water, allowing herself to blush a little bit. ''Thanks. Decided to go a bit less formal.''

''Well, I like it.'' His eyes weren't meeting hers, but nor were they quite looking away. Adelheid himself wasn't dressed very much different; he had put on a tank top himself tonight; but with a low-cut neck. The suspenders hung off his shoulders again. His earrings were silver rings tonight; he had a pair of them that he wore now and again; a pair of black trousers and boots topped off the outfit. ''Would you like to go sit somewhere? There's a place not so far, outskirts of town but still right nearby for whenever we want to go to the pub.''

''Sounds good. Lead the way, sir.''

He stifled a laugh. ''Sir?''

Whip smiled a bit. Her sense of humor was coming out a bit more. He also had a sense of humor if you brought it out, she found. ''Seemed like the right thing to say.''

''Well, I don't mind.'' He then took her arm, in a rather gentleman-like manner. He led her over to the area; it was sort of a park a few hundred feet to some of the cafes and pubs. There was a nice view of the river and the other side; there were only a few others in the park at the moment. Some were drinking, but didn't bother them, a few pairs walked by, and people of varied ages. He sat close to her, but not crowding her out; it was apparent that he was becoming much more comfortable in her company. He realized he had still had her arm in his hand and took it away suddenly with a little smile.

''It's ok, you know.'' She turned toward him and tucked her leg underneath of herself. He did the same, hanging onto the back of the bench. She put one of her hands over his, rubbing it gently. ''Just relax. I couldn't help but notice you getting a bit uptight now and again.''

''Well, I mean, like I said, I don't go out too much.''

''With women.''

He let a lock of hair fall into his face. ''Well, yeah. No time. A lot of traveling, a lot of training, and I participate in other tournaments besides the King of Fighters.'' He shifted a bit on the bench. ''Speaking of which-are you entering this year?''

Whip thought for a moment. ''Not sure. If Heidern gives the orders, definitely. If he decides to enter himself with the other two? Unsure. I wouldn't want to enter without a team, and if my other old teammates are still together-not sure what I can do.''

''I'm sure you can find people. You know what you're doing.''

''Are you entering?''

''Naturally.'' Adelheid smiled. ''Come on now, it's almost my hobby these days. I have to try for two years in a row, besides.''

Whip laughed. ''True enough. Alone again? I can't believe you enter without a team.''

''I like the practice.''

''Practice?'' She knew that her, Ralf, Clark, and Heidern were all good-Heidern with many, many years of experience; but even they prefer the team.

''Yeah, it's how you look at it. I suppose that when I win with the odds stacked much more against me, I just feel somehow better about it.''

''Would you ever join a team?''

''Perhaps. If I found some people who I got along well with.'' He looked at her; his eyes studying hers. ''Of course, if someone doesn't have a teammate, I might...and that's a might...decide to make an exception sometime. Maybe.'' He winked at her.

''Let's see when the time comes. I certainly wouldn't want to fight you.'' Whip really didn't want to end up at the end of one of his kicks, or any of his blows for that matter. She had seen what they can do to people.

''I don't count having a whip wrapped around my neck as something I like to do in my spare time, so I might say the same thing.'' He propped his head onto his free hand, managing to smile much more naturally now. He hadn't tried to take his other hand away from Whip, either.

''Heh, maybe we ought to not get to know each other too well, lest we have to fight.'' For some reason she thought that she liked that idea less than actually having to fight against him.

''Ah, I wouldn't say that. I know a few folks in the tournament that treat it as good sport,'' he replied quickly.

''I like that way of looking at it.''

''But anyway.'' He turned back around, and scratched the back of his head a bit. ''Let's just hang here for a while. Let the folks get a head start on us. We can go check a pub or two afterward.'' He stood up and walked to sit by the river. The grass was cool, and it was even a little more pleasant there. Whip joined him. He pulled his knees to his chest and folded his arms around them. He looked at her. ''When did we meet? I kind of forget.''

''I think after...the tournament before last? Only in passing. We got to kind of know more after you and Heidern started to meet. I saw your fight in that tournament, though.'' She paused. ''You were pretty scary in one of the fights.''

''I...don't remember that fight too well. I remember my sister playing the piano, and then I sort of blacked out.'' He looked over the river. ''I heard later I really hurt some guys. I'm not sure what happened.''

Whip frowned. She remembered the blood. ''Well, it could have been the fog of war, or something.'' She changed the subject back. ''But yes, it's been about that long. We just hadn't gotten to know each other yet.'' She laughed. ''I remember when Ralf and Clark drank all of your good German beer you had in the Sky Noah.''

Adelheid laughed at that. ''Yeah. I thought I had a case, but apparently not. I did tell my servants to give you guys what you wanted. Ahh well, it's easy enough to get again. You managed to control yourself, at least.'' He reached over and ruffled her hair a bit.

''I'm not insane like they are.''

''We finished that bottle of wine a few days ago without too much problem.''

''Well, a bottle of wine between two people, and a whole case of giant cans, is a bit of a different thing.''

''True.'' He laughed. ''I think I may take it easy tonight, but a few will go down well in any case.'' He lay back, his hands behind his head. ''But I'm not ready to move quite yet.'' He closed his eyes, a small smile still on his face.

Whip leaned back as well, her head on one hand, propped up on her elbow. His eyes were closed; she kind of found herself checking him out once again. _It's not like I've never caught his eyes where they shouldn't be, _she thought with amusement.

He suddenly opened his eyes and looked over at her. She shook her head and looked over at some trees. He grinned. ''Now who's checking out who?''

''He..hey. Just...bah!'' She lay back, smiling, much the way he was. He inched a bit closer to her. He didn't try anything, however. She looked back over. ''Where do you think you'll be going after this?''

''Not sure yet. We usually never know until it happens. I'll probably find some small tournaments to enter. What about you guys?'' He met her gaze. ''I guess you guys are stationed here for awhile?''

''I don't know how long. We'll be here for the rest of the month, at least. We might end up leaving when you do, or after, or much later. I never know.''

He nodded. ''We can always go see some other places, if you like. We certainly didn't see them all tonight.''

''I'd like that.'' She smiled at him. ''I'd like that a lot, actually.''

''Me too. I think I like getting out and doing other things. I just don't realize I do, because...well, I don't that often.'' He laughed. ''If that made any sense.''

''It did. Like we talked about before-we both see the world, but we really don't get to see the world.''

''Well, at the very least, we'll know Vienna and some of it's close surrounding areas, perhaps, depending on how busy you are.''

_I'm hoping I get plenty of days off. I'm sure the guys can handle this. I like to make myself useful to the team, but, well...a bit of a vacation can't be that bad, and it has been awhile, _Whip thought to herself. ''We aren't leaving that hotel. I can come by whenever I'm not busy.''

''I'll be holding you to that.''

''You seem to like my company.''

''You asked first.'' He smirked.

''Damn you.'' She stifled a laugh. ''Well, what do you say...maybe treat a lady to a couple of drinks before walking her home? Or, well, back to her hotel, as it may be?''

''I think so.'' He sat up, stretched, and stood, dusting himself off. He helped her up as well. He had a hand on her shoulder as they walked; but he was still very polite.

_I could quite get used to his company._

--

They reached the pub finally; it was a middle-sized one. The terrace wasn't too crowded; Adelheid told her to keep a seat; he would get them a couple of drinks. He walked inside as she pulled up a seat; there weren't too many people around it, giving them some breathing room. She sat for a while, and heard some rowdiness going on inside. _Glad we aren't in there, _she thought and chuckled. People had gotten a start already; there would surely be people thrown out soon.

Adelheid came out soon after with two tall pints of what looked like dark beer and sat next to her. They were ice cold. ''I hope you like beer,'' he said. ''I figured we could go different than the wine.''

''I don't drink it so often, but I do enjoy it from time to time.'' She took a sip. With the heat outside, it was wonderful.

Adelheid had finished his first pint rather quickly; Whip was only about a third of the way done hers. ''Slow down. I don't know if I can carry you back,'' she said with a smirk.

''Ah, I'll be ok. One second.'' He went to grab another one. He took his time with this one.

Some time had passed; they were more or less enjoying the people-watching that inevitably went on at these establishments. Occasionally one would stumble out. Or be escorted out by large men. Adelheid would tell her what some of the people were saying, if they were speaking German. He usually spoke in English, but he could indeed speak German well, as could his family. Whip and the guys picked up bits of many languages in their travels; but except for Heidern, didn't speak too many others fluently.

They had moved their seats next to each other around the round table, and faced the door to watch more of the festivities. Surprisingly, there were no fights; just usual drunken antics. There was a small breeze now, as the night had cooled things off a bit, but it was still humid. The cold pints kept them comfortable, though.

After Whip had returned with two more-she insisted on buying, this time, even with Adel's protests about letting a lady pay and that he basically had more money than he knew what to do with-they heard a rather loud voice coming out from the inside.

''What do you _mean _you can't smoke in these places anymore?''

''Sorry, sir. You can have your cigar outside.''

''Bah! Come on, we gotta go outside.''

_Why does that voice sound familiar? _Whip thought to herself as she drank. Adelheid must have been thinking the same thing, since he looked at her with a questioning look.

Sure enough, a slightly inebriated Ralf came walking out, a cigar in his mouth, with Clark following him. ''I tell ya.'' he started. ''You go away for a couple years, come back, and they have all of these new laws.'' He handed a cigar to Clark. They had large bottles of beer in their hands.

_Oh, no. They're...right there. I didn't see them inside!_

Adel looked at her again. ''Umm...'' he started, quietly. ''Do they know..?''

''No'' she shook her head. ''I mean, they wouldn't care. But...''

''Yeah, I understand.''

''Maybe they won't see us?''

Naturally, at that, Ralf had turned around after getting his cigar lit. He blinked several times. Clark slipped off his sunglasses-which he was wearing, inside, at night.

''Muchiko? Is that you?'' He walked over to their table. That was Ralf's nickname for her; he picked up the word on their travels. It meant, basically, 'Whip-Girl.'

''Yes it is!'' Clark exclaimed. He seemed about as far tipsy as Ralf.

''H...hi, guys!'' she exclaimed. She laughed nervously.

Ralf turned to Adel. ''You're here too? Alone?'' He blinked again. ''Are you guys on a date or something?'' He grinned broadly.

''Well, ah, he's just showing me around the city.''

Clark spoke up. ''I see.'' His eyes fell to between their chairs. They had forgotten, or didn't even realize, that her hand was over his; she had placed it there when he made her laugh about something. She snatched it away and Adel had grabbed his beer and took a swig. A long one. One of Clark's eyebrows rose.

Adelheid managed to cut in after his drink. ''I guess you guys have a night off tonight?''

''Yep!'' Ralf said, puffing on his cigar. ''Figured we'd go have some fun. And go figure, you guys end up at the same pub. What are the chances of that?''

_Don't remind me, _Whip thought as she took another long drink. Maybe going a couple past her normal limit wouldn't be so bad tonight. As always she adored the guys, and she didn't think there was any trouble-but for some reason she wasn't in a hurry to let them see her out with the man whom Heidern had taken such a great interest in-and he wouldn't talk about it with the rest of the team. ''Well, we're all here now. We only planned on taking a few. I'd like to get an early start and he trains in the morning.''

''Do you ever _not_ train, Adel?'' Clark asked. ''I mean, we're soldiers and we don't train as much.''

''I like it.'' He smiled. ''And, well, I did beat you guys a couple of times.''

Ralf scowled at that, but it wasn't serious. ''Hmph. Look, Blondie, you got us after...we had a long day the day before. We were still tired!''

''Sure.'' Adel took another drink and smiled. He could see he was baiting them and it amused him a bit. It amused Whip, as well.

''Well, a rematch sometime then?''

''Gladly. You guys do actually make me fight. And you don't _always_ lose.''

''Damn right! We did get you before!''

''Two on one,'' Whip pointed out.

''Whose side are you on?!'' Clark asked, with a fake annoyance in his voice.

Whip just drank. Adel smiled at her.

''Alright, you two.'' Ralf stood up and stubbed out his cigar. ''We're going back in. Enjoy your time.'' He smiled and winked. He gave Adel a look that said _Be nice to her. _Clark saluted with two fingers and went inside as well.

''Well, that was interesting,'' Adel said. ''Guess they didn't care, though.''

They didn't see them anymore that evening; after one more each, they decided to call it a night. _I don't want to be in the shape those two will be in tomorrow. _

''Do you want to take a taxi or something? Or walk?'' Adel asked her.

''Let's walk.''

''I was going to say the same thing. I know another way back, a way we haven't gone before.'' He put his hand between her shoulders and led her along. ''It's not a long way, maybe twenty minutes.''

''That close?''

''Yeah, if you know where to go.''

They walked for a while; eventually her arm had ended up around his back, as well. Their tongues had been loosened a bit by the beer; but they could barely be considered drunk. He pointed out a few places to her; an old church here, another old building there. Only occasionally, though; truth be told she noticed him looking at her a lot more. Another truth that should be told was that she was indeed doing the same. The more she talked to him, and the more they opened each other up-Whip wasn't the most open book, either-the more they relaxed around each other. While they couldn't be called more than friends, they had become a lot closer these past few days than they had in the near year they had been acquaintances that saw every so often during the tournaments. _He's not totally open yet. Nor would I expect him to be. Neither am I. But at least he smiles more often than he had the past couple of weeks. Come to think of it, so do I. _

They turned the corner to the hotel; as they walked in, Heidern was standing in the lobby, talking to someone. They both froze. He looked over, his eyebrow raised. He nodded to both of them-Whip could have sworn she saw a bit of a smile-but some concern in his eye, also. Adel nodded, and escorted Whip to the elevator and up the stairs. Heidern left them to their own devices.

''Well, they all saw us, now.''

''Yeah''. Adel scratched his head. ''They don't seem to mind. I mean, I was showing you around.''

''You were.'' The elevator dinged on the 16th floor. They stepped out and Whip lead him to her room. ''Well, thanks again. It was fun. A lot of fun. I got to see a fair amount of the place.''

''There's more. Just let me know if you want to go out again. I had fun, too.'' He smiled at her.

''Yeah.'' She turned to unlock her door, but turned back and hugged him. He returned it, and kissed her on the cheek, as well. She blinked for a moment; and returned it in kind.

''I'm heading back now.'' he said, ruffling up his hair again. ''Going to train early tomorrow, as usual.'' He stood back and bowed a bit. ''Good night, Seirah.''

''Good night.'' She went into her room.

_I would really like to get to know you more. I really would. I...I don't know, yet. _Whip wasn't the most soft hearted girl in the world-but neither was her heart made of stone. She was a soldier and an agent, but she had other interests. She wasn't a...typical lady, either-but she usually didn't discuss her 'birth', which, like some of the others-wasn't normal. Adel wasn't too soft either; but she found he tugged at a part of her that other guys who she had tried dating in the past-her wanting to live a somewhat normal life, after all-didn't, and they weren't even really dating, per se, yet. They didn't like her sometimes-aloof manner, or the military-trained personality that came out. She sometimes liked to take the bull by the horns and be the assertive one; other times she was quiet and reserved-soldiers learned how to give orders, naturally, but also take them without question. Adelheid seemed to respect her. He respected her as a fighter in the tournament, and her quirks as well. He would take the lead sometimes as well, which she didn't mind. He was no pushover-save for his sister, who was indeed his weak point, but he'd even began to toughen up there. He gently prodded at her for a few things in her discussions. She could be too resistant, sometimes, at letting people in. But perhaps she just needed someone who was just enough like her, but just a little different, to help with that. She did feel different around him. _Time will tell which way I end up leaning. Maybe it won't take as long as I think._

She already had a feeling which way her heart was starting to go.


	3. Determination

**Determination  
**

Whip rose a little later than normal; the beers from last night had made her sleepy. She was milling about her room when there was a knock at the door. She peeked through the peephole to see a rather hungover looking Clark standing there. She opened the door.

''Hi.'' She looked him up and down and smiled. ''Late night?''

''Don't remind me.'' His sunglasses hung from his white sleeveless shirt. His hat was off and his blond hair was rather disheveled; the dark rings under his eyes told her he had slept maybe four hours, tops.

She laughed. ''You can always stop before that point, you know.''

''Yeah, yeah. We were arm wrestling. We won some cash, too.'' He rubbed his eyes.

''Well, something good came out of it then. Ralf still asleep?''

''Yeah, he was awake a few minutes, went back under. Me, I'm here to bring you a message.''

''A message?'' she blinked.

''Boss wants to see you when you get a chance.''

''Boss? Heidern?''

''That's our boss, remember?'' he smirked.

''Yeah.'' She was puzzled for a moment-then it dawned on her. Her stomach sank.

''You ok there?''

''I..I'm fine. Does he want to see me now?''

''When it's good for you. It didn't sound terribly official. I never know, though. He hides stuff, remember? We're not too busy today, so you can shower, eat or whatever, I'm sure.''

''Well, thanks, Clark. Go get some sleep now.''

He chuckled weakly. ''Don't have to tell me twice.'' He turned and walked back down the hall, cursing under his breath at his key card which seemed to be having problems.

Whip shut the door. _I think I know what this is about. What else could it be?_

She noticed the way Heidern had looked at her and Adelheid last night. They looked fairly cozy together, but they weren't doing anything terribly out of the ordinary. She was hoping that this wasn't business that could cause a conflict of interests. He may not have wanted any of his people getting involved with someone who was part of his plan, or whatever. She found her stomach was bothering her a little too much to eat at the moment. She sort of wanted to take a shower, and get this over with.

--

Whip walked into the room where Heidern was waiting. He was in his more casual wear; but the man's military presence was unmistakable, even his casual wear was a bit formal looking and kept immaculate. She started to salute; but Heidern stopped her. ''Off duty, Seirah. It's ok.'' He smiled a tiny bit and nodded. He sat in a chair by the window, overlooking the city. ''Please, sit down.''

She did. By the look of things, it wasn't bad, necessarily, but something would be coming up in this conversation, she was sure of it.

Heidern sat quietly for a while, his hands under his chin. The day was cloudy and very humid outside; a storm was surely coming. Without looking away from the window, he said, ''What if the worst happened?''

Whip looked out of the window herself. ''I..I'm not sure what you mean.''

''What if the worst happened to be true, and he was taken over? What if he turned into the monster that his father was?''

Whip was silent. It had crossed her mind a few times, naturally. But she didn't really like to think about it, let alone look at it. Heidern now was forcing her to, and it made her uncomfortable. _He might have it in him, but he..he's stronger than that. He's noble, inside. _But then she remembered the older tournament, for a moment. She remembered how, after his sister had started playing her music for him, how he fought so much more brutally. She remembered the vicious blows he landed upon the men who were fighting him, and the blood that came from their mouths and noses whenever he struck. Soldiers saw blood and death often; people get shot, people get stabbed, and people die. But there was more blood that was...necessary, even in a full-contact fighting tournament. _It's his sister. Somehow, she can bring out the worst in him. He's not an angel-but he's certainly not some demon, either. _She remembered his words from last night_. ''I...don't remember that fight too well. I remember my sister playing the piano, and then I sort of blacked out. I heard later I really hurt some guys. I'm not sure what happened.'' _She frowned and sighed as that came back to her.

Heidern sighed as well. He didn't sound disappointed; he sounded concerned. ''Seirah, I don't want to see it happen any more than you. I promised myself, after seeing what the power of Orochi can do to people-to friends, to families...'' he paused and cleared his throat. ''...I would save him, if I could save one person. There are others that are...more difficult, now. But not him, not yet.''

''Is that...'' Whip started.

''Yes. More as well. But that's a big part of it.''

''What do you think?'' she asked. ''I..I usually don't question my superiors. But...you said we were off duty, and I'd really like to know. Is he..?''

Heidern closed his good eye. ''I cannot tell. I know he has a noble heart, good sportsmanship, and he certainly has good control over the immense strength and power in his body, as well as a great will and spirit. But I have also seen his darker side, as have you. But I've seen a much darker side than you have. To be fair it was a life or death situation, but...'' He paused. He remembered the man who pulled the gun, and the unnatural, near manic glow that overtook the young man's eyes, even from his vantage point. Heidern could be a well-hidden man when he wanted to be, and he stayed off in the shadows during this confrontation; it was not his fight. He then remembered Adelheid lashing out with his legs-three, four, five, maybe six lightning-fast kicks. That was all it took in his adrenaline-and possibly otherworldly-fueled rage. He remembered the sound of the would-be assailant's breaking bones, and seeing the red ruin of the man's skull after he was finished.

He thought Seirah didn't need to know absolutely everything.

''I believe he might have some of it, that was the decision making point for me where I wanted to get involved. I don't think he even realizes it, though-he was but a teenager when his father died. But I'm sure he knows he has a dark side to him. He keeps it well in check, however. He's much less his father-but remembers the saying. 'The gods visit the sins of the fathers upon the children.''' He stood and looked out the window, his hands clasped behind his back. ''But there is also another saying that goes, 'The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the father's iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son's iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself.''' He turned to look at her. ''Both are true, I believe.''

Whip could only nod. Heidern was always impressive the way he could put things. She was normally a rather assertive girl, but around her commander, she was rather subdued.

''Adelheid very may well pay for his father's sins, in the price of his very soul. But, he also may not. He may pay for it-but be able to keep it dormant inside of him. He may be able to control it. Only time will tell.'' He sat back down and looked at her. ''Seirah, while we are on official business here-my dealings with the elder Bernstein is not part of that. It's my own, personal business. What you do-is up to you. You're a grown woman. A young woman, but a grown one. You can make any decision you like. But you have to prepare for what might come about if he has to pay for his father's sins in full. If you can accept that...'' He sighed deeply again. ''You will be fine. But I promised to myself-I will not let that young man's soul be corrupted. I won't let more be ruined.''

Whip just looked at the table. She felt very uncomfortable right now. She didn't want to think of Adelheid ending up as some of the others-or worse. ''Commander. I have made my decision. I can't...abandon this. It hasn't quite even started, yet. But...I don't want to abandon this.'' She breathed out. ''I think my decision was made for me, after last night. I don't even know if this is going anywhere, yet, to be honest. But either way, even if we just remain friends as we are, I'm staying with it.''

Heidern nodded. ''Just be careful, Seirah. I don't want to see yet more hurt that don't have to be. But beware of the sister. She bothers me greatly; but there is not much I can do about it. It's out of my hands-anything having to do with his family should be handled by him.''

Whip nodded. She personally didn't mind steering clear of Rose. ''Commander. Thank you.''

Heidern nodded. ''You are excused.'' He thought for a moment. ''Thank you.''

''Thank me?'' Whip looked a bit taken aback.

''I'm not alone in this.'' He turned back toward the window.

''Can I ask you one more thing, sir?''

''Yes.''

''Why him? Why did you choose him?''

He was silent for a moment. ''He had such a spirit in him when I met him for the first time. He's strong, inside and out. I also didn't want to see a young man pay for what his father had done. He pays for that enough, as it is.'' He turned back. ''I felt like I could help him in some way.''

''I see, sir. Well, good-bye. And...thank you again.'' She turned quickly and left.

Whip walked out, breathing a sigh of relief. Upon walking there, she had feared for the worst; that it was against protocol, that it was against orders, against this or that; but her fears were relieved. But naturally, new fears had begun to bite at her. _What if the worst did happen? Could I face him if he were insane? _She hated to think about that. She forced a smile and waved to Ralf and Clark, sitting in the lobby of the hotel. Both of them still looked a little worse for wear today; but they were cheerful enough. They smiled and called her over.

''Hey, Muchiko. Everything go ok?'' Ralf asked. He took a long pull on a bottle of over-sugared, over-caffinated cola. No doubt helping his morning after.

''Just fine. It really did.'' That wasn't a lie. She didn't talk about her new, small set of fears, but it did indeed go very well.

Clark chuckled. ''Have fun last night, did ya?''

Whip blushed. ''It was nothing like that! He was just showing me around the place. I hadn't seen much of Vienna yet, because _some _people were too busy partying it up after their duties.'' She half scowled at them. Big brothers, indeed. She couldn't stay angry, though. ''You guys have plans tonight?''

''Another night off!'' Ralf said. ''But perhaps we'll do something a little more productive. A little training, a little...TV or something. I dunno.''

''Sure. You'll end up out again.'' She stuck her tongue out at him.

''We'll see. You take care, ok?'' Ralf patted her hand. ''And good luck.''

''Good luck!?''

Clark looked at her a bit sarcastically. ''You think we're _that _dense, dear? Come on now, we're not the total muscleheads you might think.'' He winked. He had his sunglasses off still.

Whip blushed again. She had been doing that more often than usual, as of late.

''Just make sure he doesn't have a reason for us to kick his ass.'' Ralf stated.

''He's more of a gentleman than you guys. I don't think that will be a problem. Besides-we're only friends. Trust me.'' Which was the truth. Nothing really had happened the night before, except the couple of kisses on the cheek.

''Yeah, yeah. Get out of here and go...have fun.'' He slumped back in the chair, looking a little tired but still smiling.

Whip left her two 'Big Brothers' to their hangover treats and began to make her way back to the Sky Noah. Walking alone though, her thoughts began to gather again, with all of the 'what ifs.'

She finally reached the Sky Noah, and called up on the intercom; a servant let her in. They had orders to let in any of them, at this point. Adelheid was outside, however; he was apparently finishing up his morning training and would be out in the grass behind the Noah. She walked out to find him; sure enough, he was in the field by some trees, doing some rather difficult looking things. Rose again was nowhere to be found. She walked up quietly; not wanting to disturb him, and just watched him. Eventually, he turned around, and saw her.

''Seirah?'' he asked. He was panting, sweat was pouring off of him, even without the sun it was dreadfully hot; the sky still threatening to burst open. He brushed back his hair and stripped off his shirt, letting what little air there was cool his chest. She just watched him walk over to her; a smile forming on his face. When he reached her, he stood in front of her; but for some reason she was unable to speak. He cocked his head to the side. ''You ok?'' He now looked concerned.

She suddenly wrapped her arms around him, leaning her head against his shoulder. He started a bit, but wrapped his arms around her as well, holding her. She wasn't in tears; she wasn't even terribly depressed; but she felt...protective, in a way. She just felt like being close to him right now. _A friend can look out for another friend, after all, right?_

They stood there, embracing, for quite awhile.

--

Eventually, the inevitable thunderstorm finally hit; and it was a harsh one. The two had moved inside; Adel had gotten changed and the two now sat in his quarters. They were almost as big, and as nice, as the main living area. He had everything in there he needed. The two sat on a couch they pushed by the window; they drank cups of strong coffee as they felt they needed it.

Whip had found outside she didn't want to let him go; the feelings were there, bubbling under the surface-but even then they never came to a full boil. He did, however, have his arm around her, his hand on the back of her neck, the whole way in. She could have sworn she saw blinds slam down on a window above; but she wasn't sure. They hadn't said much for a while; but again, the silence was not uncomfortable. Finally, Adel spoke up.

''Is everything ok? I mean...that was...sudden. Not that I didn't like it...'' He looked down. ''I did like it. But...what's wrong?''

Whip shook her head. ''Nothing. It's...I just wanted to. I felt like it was missing from last night.'' She managed a smile.

''I think I can agree. I mean, we don't...we haven't known for a long, long time. But I guess a little while. So much better now, anyway. But we don't really...know each other real well. I'm not saying that means anything, though...we're knowing more every day. We could...know more, if you want, Seirah.'' He looked toward her. ''I liked...holding you out there.''

Whip's smile broadened, but she was still very composed. She set down her cup and leaned against him. He did the same before slipping his arm around her, holding her to him. He wrapped his other one over her front and leaned back against the corner of the couch. He sighed lightly and rested his cheek on her; he tentatively placed his lips on her head and kissed her softly before resting his own head there again. Whip felt a warmth spread in her chest and closed her eyes. He pulled her up a bit so that she was sitting on his lap; he wrapped his arms back around her, resting his head on her shoulder. She slid her arms around his neck and returned a kiss to his forehead, as well. She liked the feeling of his body; her jacket was off, and it felt...nice, well better than nice, to be held against him. She brought a hand around; and ran it down the side of his face. They pulled back for a moment and he looked at her with red eyes that seemed to emit heat. _Should I? Is it too soon? _Whip thought to herself. He brought one of his own hands up, and ran the backs of his first two fingers up and down her cheek; before gently cupping his hand on the side of her face. She couldn't help herself anymore. She leaned over and kissed him very lightly on his mouth; just once. _Nothing ventured, nothing gained, as they say._

Adel returned it; he leaned back and took her hand in his, running his thumb over the top. He looked down, coughed, and scratched his head with his other hand; his cheeks were visibly red. A small smile spread on his face. Whip herself had to chuckle a bit. He looked up at her, still smiling.

''Well, that wasn't so bad, now, was it?'' she asked.

''No...not at all. I mean, it...'' He suddenly leaned forward and returned another kiss; it was a bit longer, but still gentle. He ran a hand through her hair. After a few brief moments they pulled apart again. ''That was even better.''

Whip sighed again, content. ''It was.''

''Seirah...? Stay here awhile?''

''I will. I don't want to go anywhere today.'' She looked outside. ''Besides, it's storming like hell out there. I'd probably be struck on my way back to the hotel.'' She laughed a bit.

''Well, can't have that, now.'' He leaned forward and kissed her one more time; longer. He wrapped both of his arms around her and held her tight to him. Whip opened her mouth slightly; Adel responded by lightly probing with his tongue; but he didn't go too far. When it broke, they sat there, her on his lap, watching the rain outside, the air circulating in the Sky Noah keeping his room cool. They would occasionally kiss each other again; sometimes he planted a light one on her shoulder or the top of her head; his arms never leaving her waist.

Neither noticed the angry, red colored eye peeking into his room. It narrowed.


	4. Sins of the Father

**The Sins of the Father**

**Author's Note:** This chapter has a scene of graphic violence; readers bothered by such should be cautioned.

The past ten or so days had been quite nice for once, Adelheid thought as he trained in Sky Noah's training room. The issue with his sister still bothered him, naturally-it probably always would until he had his old little sister back-if he ever did. But Seirah was becoming much more part of his life now, and he had been a lot happier for it. They didn't see every single day-but most of the days they did-sometimes for a couple of hours, sometimes the whole day. They didn't move fast; some days were spent wandering around small villages close by, other times in Vienna itself, and sometimes just spent inside. They even trained together, once in awhile. She even had a special training whip-it was soft and did not leave harsh marks, but could still tie around things fairly effectively. They both found it difficult to actually hit one another though. His favorite times were the ones just spent on his couch, with music playing and the air conditioning on full blast; with them talking about varied things; sometimes past experiences, sometimes what they knew best, and sometimes completely random subjects. Naturally, he enjoyed the physical aspect of those days as well. He couldn't bring himself to go too far with her yet, but he figured there would be time enough for that, if this grew into something more.

He cocked his leg back and span around, hitting his training bag with a vicious spinning kick. It flew off with a _crash. _

He smiled. He would need a heavier one very soon. He walked over to the intercom and called for his 'training partners.' Five of the servants, the ones that were rather skilled in fighting, walked in-but they wore padded helmets, mouth guards, and other padding as well. Adel removed his heavy fighting gloves and weighted boots; they hit the ground with a _thunk. _He taped up his wrists and ankles before giving them the go-ahead to attack.

After some time, he also began to realize he would need to hire more people with the ability to fight. He could handle five quite well. Maybe a bit too well.

The servants who fought him-while he never hurt them badly, or even moderately as he held back his blows quite a bit-but never his skill-would still usually end up with some bumps and bruises. He didn't force them; they agreed to help him willingly, because he _did_ help make them better, as well. They had, however, already banded together several times to consider getting him a bunch of programmable training-bots for a gift. Then they had thought about the costs of having to replace them because he _wouldn't _have to hold back and decided against it.

--

Whip was tired; but she was bent on getting to Sky Noah tonight for at least a little while. She was afraid they'd be leaving soon; she wanted to get as much time in over the next couple of weeks as possible. _What about when he does leave? Will he stay longer? What about when we have to go? _She shook her head and pressed on; she had borrowed the jeep tonight, since the guys weren't using it. It would save her some time. Dusk was passing, but she knew he'd stay up late. The heat outside was stifling; there seemed to be another storm brewing in the distance.

When she pulled up, she saw something odd. She stopped a distance away; there were five men outside. She grabbed the binoculars that they kept in the glove compartment, and checked it out.

Four of the men were dressed much like the servants of Sky Noah. The fifth appeared to be a young man, giving them some kind of orders. He was wearing a white t-shirt with a harness of sorts, and a pair of cargos and boots; he did not look familiar. The other four, though, had guns. Whip knew the servants did not carry guns. One of them turned toward her; there wasn't much room to hide a jeep, and he pointed. They saw her. She sucked in breath. She didn't have her gun with her, nor body armor. She was good, but...

The man giving the orders shook his head and pointed to the Sky Noah; they then entered. _How...?_

Whip didn't like this. She pulled out her phone and called to Adel.

''Adel?''

''Seirah? Why are you calling?'' She always just showed up.

''There are men outside I don't recognize. They look armed, Adel. I'm going to get the guys. I don't have my service weapon or armor with me.''

''Seirah! Are you ok?''

''I'm fine, they saw me, I think, but they didn't pay attention. Please, Adelheid...be careful.'' Her stomach rolled.

''I will. I've dealt with armed men before. And they'll have to find me, first. I'll let the servants know. We'll be in the main room-it's hard to get there if you've never been on this thing. How did they get outfits? A spy?''

''I don't know. Adel...''

''It's ok, Seirah. I won't lose this easily. We've gotten used to this, remember? I'm surprised it's taken this long for another attempt at us.''

''Take care.''

''You too, Seirah.''

_I hope he knows what he's doing. One man with a gun is one thing-five is another. _She started up the jeep and drove pretty fast back to the hotel.

--

Whip rushed up to Heidern, Ralf, and Clark; they were all still in the lobby. She paused to catch her breath.

''Muchiko, what's wrong?'' Ralf asked. His face was all business; he could be plenty serious if he had to. He put a hand on her shoulder.

''The Sky Noah. Something's going on there, and it's not right.''

Heidern looked at her. ''What do you mean?''

She finally caught her breath. ''There were some men there I didn't recognize. I don't usually judge books by their cover, but these people seemed up to no good. They were wearing servant's clothes as well but I didn't recognize them. At this point, I know all of the servants that are on Sky Noah, at least by face.''

''Maybe Rose got some new ones?'' Clark asked.

''I don't think so. There was something...off about them.'' Whip looked at them.

''Does Adel know?''

''Yes. I was on my way there, when I saw them outside. Five of them. They looked at me and quickly walked on. I left to here.''

''What was off about them, anyway?''

''Servants don't carry guns, usually.''

''Shit.'' Ralf said. ''No they don't.''

Heidern nodded. ''Let's go. It's a good thing you came here, Whip.''

''I didn't have my own firearm on me. I know my own skill, and five men with guns doesn't sound like something I wanted to do, especially with no armor.''

''Well, even I wouldn't have done it. The four of us should suffice, though. Get your service weapons. But try to take them alive.''

''Of course.''

''You warned Adelheid, I take it?''

''I did, sir.'' _Of course I did. He's probably sitting in wait, as he doesn't back down from fights, no matter what the odds._

--

The four arrived at Sky-Noah, still docked. Each one had a slim Kevlar vest on, with service weapons loaded with stun rounds. Heidern no doubt wanted to question them. He figured they were more people with a grudge against the Bernsteins. They hoped they weren't too late. They didn't want any of the servants-or the Bernsteins-dead. Whip's stomach was turning again at that last thought. _He's good. He could defeat them, but he can't deflect bullets. If they were unarmed, they would be in trouble. I would have called him and we could have taken them together. We might have been able to take the five-armed ones together. But...I didn't want to risk...us. _She really hoped Adel would use some restraint; but no one was perfect, and Adel was always looking for something to challenge him. He was extremely confident in his fighting ability, and would not back down. It wasn't his skill, strength, or speed she doubted-it was his ability to take a bullet in his chest.

Luckily, the Sky Noah was large. It wasn't something that a complete stranger could navigate, quickly, especially the corridors in the lower parts. She hoped they would get there before the men found anyone. _Unless one of them was a spy, and knows the layout of the place. _She wondered how they got inside in the first place. The servant uniforms _were _very accurate. All it would take was one tired one, too used to certain company, that glanced and buzzed them up. _Sometimes the best way to hide is out in the open. _

They reached it in record time; Clark could be a fast driver if he had to be. They jumped out and ran on. No servants were in sight.

Heidern looked at them. ''We stick together.''

--

Upstairs, Adel was sitting in the main room. Rose was there, at the piano; they weren't speaking too much, but with the Sky Noah basically breached, they would stand their ground. Rose seemed surprisingly...pleasant tonight. But there was a certain quality to it Adel didn't like-like she was deep in thought, planning something. Adel sat in the big chair, with his legs crossed, his gloves on, as well as his steel-shod boots. _Let them try, _he thought. _Let them try to take it. They won't pass me. But I really don't want to have to hurt them. _Fighting was an art. Self-defense happened, yes. But he didn't like to seriously harm people. He would fight these men if he had to, however, as this was his home. He had told Sky Noah's few guards to be on the lookout; but since they were dressed as many of the others, it wouldn't be easy. The place was big on top of it. _If there's one thing I sort of regret at a time like this, it's the fact I believe a little too much in my own skill. _He didn't like to rely on guards. He could deal with things himself.

After what seemed like a rather long wait, a man finally burst through the door; just one. He was dressed rather casual, but carried two long knives. He wasn't that old; he couldn't have been much older than Adel. ''You!'' he yelled. ''You sit here and wait for your fate?'' He snarled. ''Or hiding like a coward?''

''What have I done to you?'' He stood. ''Why are you doing this? I promise you, any wrong against you was not committed by me.''

''If I can't get the father, I'll take the son. It's what my brother would have done, had he lived.''

''My father killed your brother? As I said, do not lay his sins on me. Leave now. You're in my home, uninvited. I don't want to fight you.''

''Your words fall on deaf years, young Bernstein.'' He spat. ''Your family are all bastards, as far as I'm concerned. I swore a vendetta years ago. And I finally found you. Do you know how long I've looked? Do you?!'' The man was not thinking rationally, by the look of things. Adelheid himself had to wonder how he found him, or where he came from. Then again, hiding the Sky Noah was sort of difficult.

''Brother!'' Rose yelled. ''Kill him! He defiles our home and our family name. Kill him!'' Her eyes looked manic. She began to play her piano; a familiarly fast, discordant tune. Adelheid stood up. His eyes narrowed. _I...don't want to. But...do I?_

Rose continued to play the music, muttering under her breath.

''Come on.'' she whispered to herself. ''Come on out. They told me this was the way.'' She smiled sadistically.

''Defend yourself!!'' the man yelled and rushed at Adel, with his knives drawn.

Adelheid's eyes began to burn. _I don't...I...I..._

The music continued; louder, more and more minor keys fitting their way in. The man attacked him; Adelheid began to dodge and weave, deflecting the knife slashes by knocking his arms off balance. He lashed out with some of his own attacks. He felt his blood begin to grow hot in his veins.

_No...I don't want to...hur...I...I...I..._

One of the man's knives ran across his arm. A red streak was left behind. Adel hissed in pain for a moment-then barely felt it. The music continued, reaching a near inhuman quality. Adel's eyes burned even hotter.

_I want to smell his fear. I want to feel his bones crush, to hear him scream. I want to see his blood._

He smiled and rushed at the man.

--

Whip, Ralf, Clark and Heidern had managed to track the four men; also together, wandering the halls; they may have been keeping watch, or may have been looking as well. But they had a chance to knock them out, tie them up, and see what the hell was going on. Heidern nodded to the other three, and led them around. They were being very quiet; all four of them were skilled in stealth.

They waited until the men rounded the corner; and struck. Whip lashed out with her whip quickly; catching one around the waist and spinning him down; before he could act she grabbed the heavier, weighted handle and sapped him across the sensitive part of the back of his head; neat as can be. He slumped over, unconscious. Clark had one in a sleeperhold; it didn't take long for him to go out; Ralf had opted for a couple quick, strong punches to the head. Heidern had grabbed his service weapon and cracked the last one once across the back of the head, as well.

''It's never that easy,'' Ralf said. ''There were five, weren't there?''

''Yes.'' Whip answered. ''Wonder where he is? He seemed like the leader, from what I could tell. I remember these guys-the other one looked a bit different. He wasn't as disguised.''

''He might be still here then.'' Heidern looked at the guys on the ground. ''Whip. Ralf. Go find him. Clark, stay with me. We'll see what they know when they come to.''

Whip and Ralf ran off. Ralf could see the concern on her face. ''It's ok, Muchiko. I think your other half can well take care of himself.''

Whip managed a small smile. ''I know he can. But...I...still worry.'' _And not necessarily about him being able to fight one guy. _''Let's go check the main room.''

--

The young man attacking Adelheid was down to his right arm and his legs; his left had been broken blocking a flying kick Adel had thrown at him. He had blocked it a bit wrong, and Adel's strength had been magnified even more than it usually was. He pressed on through the pain and the near-demonic piano music playing in the background. He was bent on ending Adel's life-and then that of his sister, too. Adel noticed he didn't go first for his sister, for some reason and he wondered about that back when he still had coherent thought.

Adel was fighting more and more viciously. His blows came faster and harder; he did not give the man one second to recover. His chest and both of his arms had a few knife-slashes on them; they weren't too deep, nor did they affect his strength, as was proven as he met the man with a backfist square to his nose; he felt it break under his hand, and the man stumbled back, holding it. Blood poured from his fingers, but he recovered again, his nose still dripping, as he tried again to stab the knife to Adel's torso again; into his heart. Adel's shirt was slashed; a little bit of blood showed through that as well; the sight-and now smell-of the blood seemed to drive Adel to the brink of madness.

The man missed his stab; the damage he had accrued in the fight was great and he was moving too slowly, biting back the pain of a broken arm and nose. Adelheid met him with a spinning kick to the stomach, doubling him over, a second one to the side of the head, hitting his left eye and by the look of it shattering the bone, a third straight back-kick followed, connecting squarely in his jaw with a sickening _crunch. _The man sputtered out a half-scream and fell to his knees; blood pouring from his mouth as well now, and he was more than likely half blind. The floor in the Sky Noah was becoming a horrid sight. But the crimson that dripped from the man and stained the floor even further maddened Adel; an unnatural grin formed on his lips as rushed at him again.

At that moment, the door flew open; with Whip and Ralf standing there.

''_Adel!!'' _Whip yelled. She saw Rose, manically playing the piano, look over at her. The look was pure hate.

Adel didn't hear her. He leapt, bringing his leg up and around in a crescent circle, connecting again with the man's head; there was a sharp _crack, _likely from his neck, a spray of red, and he fell back to the floor. He was breathing, alive, but down. Blood continued to stream from his face, heavier now, as Adel looked at him with a battle-lust not of this world.

_No...please, no..._Whip thought, as she looked at his burning-hot eyes and shivered. _He's not..._

_''Kill him now, Adel! Do it!!'' _Rose shouted.

Ralf shook his head to snap out of it. ''Adelheid! Wait, stop!!'' he shouted. He started to rush at Adel as he walked toward the bleeding, severely injured man.

''Ralf, no!!'' Whip shouted. She looked over at Rose playing. She was smiling with a rather victorious look on her face. She didn't know what to do at this moment; and she was usually levelheaded in a battle situation.

Ralf went to tackle Adelheid; but he span and kicked out; catching Ralf in the chest; luckily it was a glancing blow, but it still threw him back a few yards and knocked the wind out of him. He sat on the ground, breathing heavily; trying to catch his breath. Had that kick landed squarely, his ribcage might have been shattered, judging by the way his eyes widened at the vicious blow. Whip saw he was ok, at least. _Adel isn't holding back, now. He's...oh, god..._

''_Kill them all!!'' _Rose yelled.

Whip suddenly uncoiled her own whip and ran toward the playing Rose; she lashed out and cracked her square across the face. A line of blood appeared on her cheek. She fell back out of her piano seat; holding her face and staring at her, in a sort of shock.

Adel had reached the man, and began to nudge him with his boot; he groaned in agony every time. His broken neck wasn't damaged enough to completely numb the rest of his body. Adelheid then kicked the man in the face again, causing another stream of blood to fly out; and then started to grind his boot-heel into his head. The man coughed more blood from his mouth; but otherwise couldn't move, somehow, perhaps through sheer force of will, he was still alive. The crimson puddle around his head grew larger. Adelheid had an inhuman, black smile on his face.

_''Adel!'' _Whip shouted. _He's...not..all there...the blood, so much blood...my God, he's..._She finally made a decision; she ran toward him as fast as she could, trying to push him off. He didn't fall; but he stumbled back a step off the man's head. He growled under his breath. It sounded nothing like him.

Rose had found her voice. ''_Kill the bitch! She hit me!! She hit ME, your flesh and blood!'' _She sounded utterly mad.

Adel turned and grabbed Whip's throat in his hand. Whip didn't move, even though his hand was like a vice.

_'''Seirah!'' _Ralf yelled. He began to get up. He rarely used her real name.

At that moment, Clark and Heidern walked in. It was a scene from hell.

Ralf was on his feet finally; his hand on his chest; nothing broken, luckily. Rose was screaming at her piano; a streak of blood across her face and a few droplets had hit her fine dress. The young man who attacked Adel was lying there, alive but horribly broken, at his feet in a pool of blood. Adel himself, his arms slashed and bleeding, his gloves spattered, blood sprayed across his face, staining the legs of his trousers and covering his boots-some his, most of it the young man's-had his hand around Whip's throat; who just stood there-the best she could, as he was starting to hold her up-looking at him. She didn't let the pain of his hand squeezing her throat drive her to show fear, even though she was terrified; looking into eyes which were not the kind, intelligent ones that she knew, and liked, so much-there was nothing but bloodlust and murder in them. What hurt much worse was the thought of the very man who would gently caress her face and smile at her these past days with his hand locked around her throat in a death-grip. _All of the training they give you to resist torture. This is worse than anything anyone could give someone._ She was trying not to shake. It was getting hard to breathe. The guys in the back were saying something; she couldn't hear-but she could have sworn she heard weapons being drawn.

''Adelheid.'' she choked out, softly. _Please...I know you're in there..._She reached up and touched his face. Her fingers came back red.

_''Adel!! Kill her!!'' _Rose, her face in pain, had still managed to get back behind the piano. Notes softly began appearing again. She hissed again under her breath. ''Why won't it work?!''

Adel's hand shook. Whip ran her hand down his cheek-he always liked that-and she felt a warm wetness, which wasn't blood. With her fingers she brushed away the tears. _He's still there...he's still in there._ Her own finally fell down, hitting him in the hand.

A brief moment after her tears had run onto his hand, Adelheid suddenly let out a bloodcurdling scream that shook the entire group to their being-it sounded like he was exorcising half of the demons of Hell from his soul itself-before letting her go and running out past her, past Ralf, Clark, and Heidern, and out the door, before any of them could even act.

Rose shrieked. ''_You! All of you!''_

They didn't hear. The group was a bit in shock.

_''You all! Look what you did!!''_

Whip had fallen to her knees. She caught her breath finally, rising slowly, not knowing where Adel went at the moment. The whole group was utterly confused, the whole thing went down in barely a minute, but it felt like forever.

Rose stormed out to her quarters, shaking. The others made no attempt to stop her; they were still a bit stunned.

''Muchiko, are you ok!?'' Ralf asked, a bit hectic. He had managed to find his voice. He ran over to her; Clark followed, holstering his weapon. It was still loaded with stun rounds; but the two in the back had been hesitant to shoot-in case they made things worse.

Whip turned, tears still streaming down her cheeks.

''Oh...I...'' Ralf stumbled.

''Seirah.'' Heidern said. ''Go to him. Now. Ralf, Clark, go to the others we captured. I'll see to the young man here. He needs serious medical attention, it seems.''

''Yes, sir.'' Ralf and Clark were off. They didn't question the Commander, though they wondered if he had actually made a mistake telling Whip to go after Adel...if it was still him. Whip was a bit slower to move.

''Seirah. He needs you. You got through to him. He's starting to snap out of it. I know the look.'' There was hope for him. He swore he would do anything in his power, and he would keep that promise.

''He...He has it, doesn't he?''

''It's not too late for him. Go. Consider this an order.''

Whip nodded and ran out.

Heidern walked over to the young man to take a better look. He realized just what kind of terrible shape he was in.

He was perhaps in his mid 20s, short brown hair, and built fairly well; he was obviously a fighter of sorts. His white shirt was now badly stained with a bright red. His arm was broken; but that was hardly the worst of it. His nose was broken-nothing new there for a fighter either, but worse yet, his jaw had been broken horribly; it would take serious corrective surgery to repair the damage. Heidern realized, as he tried to move him, that his neck had indeed been broken from the last strike-he would be paralyzed. The man's breathing was shallow; he appeared to have a few broken ribs as well. One eye looked up at Heidern, and it was bright with agony and terror-terror, no doubt, from witnessing a near Riot of the Blood. His other eye was ruined. Heidern knew what Orochi could do; the power had taken many people, and some extremely close to him. There was no doubt the younger Bernstein knew how to bring it out of Adelheid. It wasn't total, however. Adel could still recognize people. He wasn't through; he wasn't beyond help yet. But if he kept taking lives, the power would corrupt him more and more. Orochi thrived on human misery, it seemed. Heidern, a proper man, didn't like to see people like this-even if the young man had attacked him, he didn't deserve this. He wanted to take his handkerchief and at least wipe the blood from his face-but given the amount of broken and shattered bones, it would cause him even more suffering if he was touched. _The man wanted vengeance. Like I did. He let his vengeance blind him. The son should not have to pay for the father's sins._

Heidern gave the young man maybe a twenty percent...no, less than that chance of survival in his shape. Only if he was lucky, he thought as he listened to the man's ragged, shallow breaths. He closed his eye and thought for a moment. _The one I saw him kill a couple years back was luckier. He died quickly. That fight was over before it had started._ If he died like this, Adelheid would have yet another death on his hands; he already had several over the years-and it would bring him that much closer to...God knows what. Self-defense was one thing, Heidern knew the young man was forced to fight for his life before, but this...would be murder. Killed while under the power of the Blood Riot...would stain Adelheid's spirit for sure. But if he didn't die from his wounds...but from..._Forgive me. Forgive me for this. But I promised myself, and to him, I would do everything in my power to save that young man from that cursed bloodline. And I will. _Heidern took out his service pistol, and replaced the stun rounds with live ones. _I won't let you have this one, Orochi. You may have caused him to become broken, but you didn't kill this one yet. And I won't let you. Let his blood be on my hands. _

He put his hand on the man's good shoulder; in an almost comforting manner. He then put the pistol to the man's head and closed his eye. Heidern didn't notice-but the terror in the young man's good eye turned to relief as he felt the muzzle press against him.

--

Whip had a feeling she knew where Adel would be; he was by the small grove of trees near where the Sky Noah was docked. Well, grove wasn't the right word-more like a small bunch. Sure enough, he was sitting there, his arms curled around his legs, staring out. She quietly walked up to him. One of the trees had some visible damage done to it.

''Adel..''

''Leave me.'' He refused to look at her. He was still bloodied from the fight. His face had some cleaner streaks down it, however.

''No. I'm not.''

''Just...this was a mistake. All of it. It's better if it was like it was before. I just want to leave.''

''Don't talk like this, Adelheid.''

''Don't you know what's good for you?!'' He glared at her. The inhuman glow was gone from his eyes; they now looked utterly dull and lifeless. ''I can't control this thing. I try. Well, I can. But then it comes out. And I don't even realize it. I almost killed that guy in there-if not killed him. I don't fucking know,'' he snarled. ''His blood is all over me. I trailed it halfway through Sky Noah.'' He looked away. ''Get out while you can, before you end up next and I don't remember.''

''Adelheid...I...I thought you were stronger than this!''

''Maybe I did too. Apparently I'm not,'' he hissed. ''Sure, I guess I can beat people to death, but I guess I don't have the spirit everyone keeps swearing I have. So many say I was the good one of the family. Well, guess what. My family's cursed. I thought maybe I escaped it. Guess I was wrong. The whole lot of us are finished. If Orochi wants me, it can have me. At least I won't be able to remember anything anymore.'' He started to stand up. He wasn't in the mood for about anything right now except for perhaps disappearing somewhere.

Before he could, Whip smacked him across the face with a backhand. He took it, not even looking at her. She did it again, back the other way. She then began to pound on his shoulders.

_''Don't ever say that!!'' _she yelled. ''_Ever!! _I'm not leaving you like this. I won't do it. I know the man that I met at the old tournament, the man who has been spending all that time with me the past month._This...it won't. take. you.'' _She slowed down her pounding, on her knees in front of him. _''_Adelheid, don't...push me away. Or us away. I told myself...I promised myself, I was not going to let you just...be taken like this. I knew...what you had in you when I...went after this. I knew. And I won't...abandon you.''

Adel looked at her. He saw her, her tears, and the look in her eyes. He knew how much she cared. He cared so much it hurt him. It wasn't the longest time they knew each other-well, anyway-but he cared deeply. He faintly recalled the feeling of his hand around her slender neck, and how he had almost broke it. Here she was trying to get through to him; in his stubbornness, and his own weakness-that's what it was, he knew-he wasn't letting her. The bruises on her neck were noticeable, where his hand clamped over it. But he saw the look in her eyes, and saw forgiveness. It wasn't even forgiveness-to her, there was nothing to forgive.

_Orochi knows my weakness. It knows that I've given myself in, long ago, to our family's stigma. It knows that I think I can't fight it, and it takes advantage of that. It apparently knows how to get inside of me, now. It knows I can't accept that it's a part of me-that I try to forget about it, that I pretend it doesn't exist, and it uses that against me. If I can't accept this, even if it's a small taint, it will destroy-or make me destroy-everyone I hold dear, before it does to me what it did to my father._

''It wasn't you, Adel,'' she began again._It was the blood inside of you. I know the taint's there, but you can't keep avoiding it. It was also that...little sister of yours. She's partially responsible for this, what happened tonight, I know it. There she was smiling, and pushing you on. _She went closer to him; he didn't move away, which was good. She wrapped her arms around his neck. He tensed; but didn't pull away once again. She kissed the top of his head; brushed back his hair, tilted his head up, and kissed his cheek-again and again. The blood, tears, and sweat didn't matter to her. She leaned her head against his and continued to gently kiss him, through everything.

_I have to decide now. I've never ran away from a fight-no matter how many people there were, no matter how brutal, no matter how deadly. I've been running from this, though-because this...power...terrifies me. I haven't wanted to fight it, because if I lose, I lose everything. _He felt Whip, kissing the side of his face, holding herself against him, protectively, despite him hurting her, beating a young man to a pulp, and being covered in blood. _She's braver than I am. She's less afraid to face this than me. _He half remembered her standing there, even as he tried to choke the life from her, reminding him of the man he really was underneath the tainted blood that had boiled to his surface. _She's ready to face this alone, if she has to. Why can't I face this? _He closed his eyes for a moment, feeling her breath against his cheek. His chest grew tight.

_You won't take me, Orochi. If I have to resurrect you myself just so I can crush the life from you, I will._

Adel suddenly sat back, pulled her onto his lap, and embraced her. His tears seemed to have dried up; but he was shaking. There was a soft rain falling now, but he didn't want to move. Neither did Whip. But the wounds on his arms and chest bothered her; she leaned back for a moment-it was difficult for her to break the embrace-and wiped his arms clean with her jacket. The cuts didn't look too bad; the man had managed to miss the worst of his slashes. But he should get them wrapped up.

Adelheid had been silent for a long time. He finally looked at Whip, right into her eyes. ''Seirah...'' He reached out and rubbed away some of the blood that had gotten on her face from him. The rain had helped clean his hands a bit. ''Don't...don't leave.''

She shook her head. ''No.'' She smoothed down his hair. ''We shouldn't stay here tonight, though. Not with your sister here. She...isn't too happy with us...me especially...right now. She might...try something.''

He nodded. ''I know. She somehow...knows...how to wake it up in me.'' While he was trying to ready himself to fight it-now was not the time. Too soon was too soon. But he wouldn't run forever, he promised himself.

''Come back to our hotel. Go get some of your things if you can. Get a servant to or something. We'll figure out what to do tomorrow.''

''Seirah.'' He leaned forward and kissed her. She fell into the warmth of his mouth, which she had started to like so much.

_Adel, it's ok to be afraid, or need protection sometimes. It doesn't make you weak._

--

No one felt like sleeping much at the hotel.

Ralf, who was surprisingly efficient in fast field first aid-had helped bandage up Adel's knife wounds. Nothing needed stitches-that was good-but there would be a bit of scarring. Nothing new for a warrior, though. Ralf, whom was usually quite jovial, was reserved; but he did try to keep everyone from falling too far down.

''Don't go getting shot, now. I can remove bullets, but trust me, it's something you don't want to feel.''

Adel managed half a smile. ''I'll remember that. I don't think I want you cutting into me anyway.''

Ralf had nodded and patted him on the shoulder. ''Look, we're down the hall. Let us know if you need anything.'' He had seen Leona when Orochi had taken her over. He didn't blame Adel any more than he blamed her. He knew it wasn't their faults. With his little sister now with a strong interest in this man, he wanted to help him out, as well. He got up. ''Heal well. We still need a rematch.'' He gave a small salute and left the room; he gave Whip a slightly concerned look that said _be careful here...but don't give up._ Heidern and Clark had taken care of the men back at the Sky-Noah; the four men were given to authorities by Clark, who drove them to the city-Heidern knew some of the authorities there; the young man Heidern had taken care of himself.

Adel was standing by the window in Whip's room, he was clean now, with the white bandages wrapped around his right forearm, left bicep, and midsection. He wore only his trousers; he had his left forearm against the window and was resting his forehead on it. His freshly washed hair hung in his face. The storm that continued on-the second one this past ten days-seemed to reflect the general moods. Whip walked up behind him; she had changed as well. Her arms went around his waist, she rested her head between his shoulders, mindful of his wounds, but he seemed to take them well. He brought his other hand up and placed it over one of hers, lifting it to his mouth and kissing it several times before he put it back and held it. He finally spoke after awhile.

''I guess I can stay here some time with you guys?''

''Of course. Company's paying anyway.''

He nodded. ''Thank you.''

''Are you ok? Really ok?'' _You were half possessed, almost strangled me and beat a man to bloody ruin, and had no control over any of it. _She had no idea why she asked that, she kind of knew the answer.

He nodded and turned around, putting his hands on her shoulders. ''I...think. I really...don't know, though. When it could happen again. And the...the scary thing was...I know I wasn't fully taken over, Seirah.'' He shuddered. ''I...I don't want to know what would have happened if I had been.''

_Honestly, you probably would have killed us all. _Whip didn't even try to hide from that fact; she couldn't. She had seen what people under Orochi could do; and someone of Adelheid's sheer power would be...more terrible than anything. But she was determined-even moreso than Heidern now, who had sworn-not to ever let Adel get to that point. She shook her head. ''Don't think about it. This night's over. Don't dwell on it. It wants you to. It wants to break you down.''

He embraced her again, his eyes still lifeless. He walked to the bed to lie down. ''I...I'm tired.'' he said. He looked over at her. She walked to him and lay next to him. He turned on his side, pulled her close to kiss her; gently at first, and then more deeply than he ever had. He didn't let her go for a long time. She made no effort to move, either.

When it broke, he turned her, his front to her back, and held her until he fell asleep; his face buried in her hair. She was awake a bit longer; she turned back so she could see his face. Sleeping, with his blond hair and pale skin, he almost looked angelic-and finally peaceful for the first time tonight. She kissed him in his sleep. He stirred, but didn't awaken. She looked at him for a long time. She touched the bruises on her neck again, but her fear was gone. She couldn't stop watching him-she almost felt like he was protecting him.

_I know you won't be able to forget what happened, but you'll...we'll...get through it. _

She eventually fell asleep in his arms; this was the first time, she realized as she drifted off.


	5. Growth

**Growth**

Adelheid hadn't gone back much to Sky Noah the following couple of weeks. The head engineer had told him that the repairs were almost done; but he told him that there was no need to move yet. Rose had been surprisingly cordial to him-though not as close as she was before. There was always an underlying-sinisterness to her words that made him not too keen on being around her much. She had a thin cut on her cheek still, which didn't make her any happier. The cordial words seemed a bit-forced. _No doubt something's going on behind the scenes. _In a way, though, Whip felt a bit bad for her, she realized. Adelheid was her only family as well; maybe she was possessive of him for that reason-but her attitude had finally pushed him away; not to mention the madness that could overtake her. Jealousy could ruin so much of what could be beautiful. _We're trying to help him-but we don't do much about her. _Was that right? Could the younger Bernstein be rescued too? _I wish I hadn't scarred her cheek like that, after all. But it was my only choice at the time. She was...out of control. I hope I didn't make it worse._

_Maybe, _she thought to herself. But the most important thing was-she had to want it. Right now, she didn't seem to. She did sadly get many of Rugal's bad points, according to the guys-she hoped, deep inside, that it didn't destroy her like it did her father. Adelheid, while more distant from her, would no doubt feel it deeply if it did. She could tell Adel wanted to help her-but couldn't reach out to her. It bothered him a lot, too. But he also realized, she noticed, that he had himself to worry about first. It was fine to worry about others-but if he couldn't help himself, then nothing good would come of it. He had lived for his sister most of his life. It was time he lived a bit for himself.

They had seen a lot the past couple of weeks-again not constantly, as he still had his own business to take care of, as did Whip-but anytime they weren't busy, they were together. He had discussed old memories with her-when his sister was a lot nicer. She had always been a bit of a spoiled princess-it had just gotten worse over the years. She wasn't outright...evil before. She always loved to watch her brother fight; and he would happily fight to defend her-but it was only in the past few years did she start to get sadistic-ordering him to go further in fights, and finally she wanted them mortal. She had played the piano for him before-but it never affected him as much as it did the past two or so years. Whip heard the longing in his voice for what was-he had showed her an old picture, with the young Adel-blond hair messed up, smile on his face, and a younger, skinny Rose on his shoulders, laughing. She knew he hadn't given up on her; but nor could he force anything. Any words he had for her had fallen on deaf ears these days; the only thing they discussed was business, and then it was short and curt. She dealt mainly with the people that worked for the family. It was dangerous, right now, for him to be too involved with her, in her current state. He knew this well; he didn't like it, but he knew it.

Luckily, her and the guys were staying here quite awhile more. Heidern had apparently started to get involved with another project-and when he did, he didn't stop until it was completed. So they would be here for an unknown amount of time. This made Whip quite happy-anytime with Adelheid was good time. He had recovered well from the horrible night two weeks past-his bandages were off and he was healing nicely, both physically and mentally. He had been very, very reserved for a few days afterward; but it almost seemed like he was working at himself, inside. As guilty as he felt, he knew he couldn't let it overtake him and drive him to despair. It was what Orochi wanted. As hard as it was, and he would be reminded of it for those days that he saw Whip's neck while it healed-but if anything it gave him more resolve to keep the...taint...if that was what it was, in check. Day by day, a little more of the Adelheid that Whip knew best had come back.

He continued to train, every day, early in the morning; she would sometimes go to watch him. They still trained together sometimes; with her practice-whip; Adel didn't seem to mind when it left an occasional small mark. Ralf and Clark liked the challenge as well; one time the three of them went after him. But after Ralf and Clark had been ''knocked out''-they basically fought to a set limit-Adel and Whip had trouble getting past any sort of grapples and it sort of drew. _Remind me, not to have to fight him in the tournament. It just won't work now, _she thought with a laugh. They had gone around a bit more too; in the countryside. He even took her to show her some of Sky Noah's secret areas, which only he his sister, and a couple of the servants or engineers knew about-and then only the ones who had to know about them. Day after day they grew closer. He was interesting in the fact that he was, in his own way, very romantic; but not sappy in the least, like some guys she had known in the past. Affection for him was not flowery words, candy, or poetry, he never really believed in those things; she could tell he wasn't that type-and neither was she. To him, sitting with her, no matter where it was-be it outside, in his quarters, library, or her hotel room, with his arms around her waist and his head on her shoulder, where he would often brush his lips against her, meant infinitely more. Even something as small as standing on the deck of the Sky Noah next to each other, looking out over everything meant more to him, even if they didn't speak. She tended to agree.

Adel still liked to be alone now and again; he and Whip were still getting used to what they had. There were a couple of nights that the guys insisted on bringing him out for a night on the town-he went along; he wanted to get to know more people, as he didn't know so many of the usual participants in the tournaments. Occasionally, Whip would be there to cheerfully greet him early if he had a particularly hard night. These didn't happen often, however-Adelheid was not a man of great excess. He sometimes wanted to train alone there were things in himself he needed to get in touch with. As much as they had opened up to each other, and as much as he trusted her, and her him-there were things that the both of them sort of wanted to work through on their own, as well.

The early August weather gave no relief from the past month. It was an early Thursday morning; and the two of them were again free. Whip had returned from a few meetings with the guys and some other military officials; they seemed to be tracking a group by the name of ''People From the Past.'' Apparently, they had ties to Orochi. She shuddered when she heard the name-but kept her composure, like any good soldier would. They sat outside, in their usual spot under the trees; thankfully the clouds had rolled in to keep the worst of the sun off of them. It was still dreadfully hot, though. They had opted for iced coffee-even Adel, who liked his over brewed, morning sludge. _For someone as refined as him, you'd think he'd drink something a bit more...proper,_ she giggled to herself. He leaned against the tree; his shirt and boots off to the side, and her on the ground in front of him. She leaned back against his chest, and decided she didn't want to move for awhile.

''Comfy?'' he asked her. He snaked a hand around and placed it over her stomach; she had opted for a half-shirt today. She usually dressed a little less revealing; but she was alone and with Adel, so she didn't mind. She placed a hand over his.

''Of course.'' She tilted her head back and looked at him. He kissed her forehead. ''Any plans for today?''

He smiled. ''None at the moment. How about we just...get to know each other better?'' He blushed a bit.

_Why is he blushing again? And get to know... _She then blinked. ''Adel!''

''I...I mean, I...er...not...'' He closed his eyes and tried to hide his obvious smile.

She laughed. ''Sounds like a good idea, maybe. We don't have to go anywhere.'' She sat on his lap, facing him, legs on either side. His blush faded-but his smile didn't. He held her close and kissed her neck several times-he left his head there, breathing in deeply. She rested her head on his, enjoying the feeling.

Besides, they had seen most of Vienna by now, anyway.

--

''I don't get it. Why didn't it work?'' the mysterious figure said.

''The interlopers, naturally. There are _always _interlopers. And the commander is proving himself to be the biggest nuisance of them all. But the girl is really beginning to...almost surpass him in that sense.''

''I thought we had the younger one...and that she would...help the older one's power be realized.''

''Oh, we do. Don't worry. But we just need a little more...prodding. It might be a good idea to wait.''

''The next tournament?''

''Yes. If the other one completes his quest-the full power will be unleashed. Maybe then, there will be no resistance.''

''Good. carry on as planned...''


End file.
